Improved machine for moulding clay



Staten @anni SAMUEL HAMBLETON AND GEORGE P. 'HER'IHEL JR., OF ST. LOUIS,

MISSOURI.

Letters Patent No. 87,043, elated February 16, 1869.

IMPROVED MACHINE FOR MOULDING- CLAY.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and 'making part of thesame.

.To all lwho-m it may concern:

Be it known that we, SAMUEL HAMBLETON and GEORGE P. HERTHEL, Jr., of St.Louis, in the county of St. Louis, and State of Missouri, have madecertain new and useful Improvements in Machine for Moulding ClayRetorts, Pipes, and similar articles; and we do.

hereby declare that the following is a full and clear descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accomlyianymg drawings, and to theletters of reference marked thereon.

The object of our said invention is to compress and .stamp the clay,after it has been fed intoa mould, into a compact, homogeneous mass,which shall not blister or crack by unequal expansion in the processesof drying and ealcination, and the application of said invention isthereibre especially for forming retorts, tiles, crucibles, pipes fordrains, sewers, and similar articles which may be subject to great heator pressure, or be otherwise used to contain gaseous or fluid bodies.

The nature of this invention is in such an arrange' ment of parts thatnothing shall limit the stroke of the rammers but the clay in the mould,thus insuring that the clay shall receive the proper stamping-action;and said natureis also in the construction of certain deviceshereinafter more fully described, so that the rammers may always beproperly raised, and thus the force of the blow or ramming may be morereadily adjusted in accordance with the nature ofthe clay, or thequantity thereof in the mould.

To enable those skilled herein to make and use our said improvements, wewill now fully describe the same, referring to the accompanying Figure las a front elevation; to

Figure 2 as a side elevation; to

Figure 3 as a top plan; and to Figures et and das sectional elevationand sectionall plan, respectively, of the screw-clutch device forraising the cam-devices and their connections, so as to follow the riseof the rammers as the clay is fed into thc mould.

`We support the operating-devices of our said machine upon a frame, A,which is usually of wood.

In said frame, in a centralv position thereof, we arrange thescrew-shaft B.

At the lower end hereof, we connect to said shaft the turn-table C, saidturn-table being supported by a proper' bearing upon the base-block ofthe frame A, and being connected to said screw-shaft B, so as to betuiiied thereby.

Upon the turn-table C, we support the core I) and mould E, the sameforming the annular space D', into which the clay or like substance isto be fed, to form the retort, pipe, or similar article.

The mould E will usually be arrangcd'in halves, which are connected toeach other by hinges, so that, upon the completion of retort or pipe,the said mould may bcunclasped and removed; and in order that the re-.be lifted off, all of which may be done in any of the ways usuallyemployed in similar machines.

lVc further arrange the stamps, or rammers F, in said franle A, so as tobe guided in a motion, in a ver- 'tical (or very nearly vertical)direction, said rammers passing into the annular space D', into whichclay is fed.

There may be one, two, or more of said rammers F, which are to be raisedby proper machinery, and permitted to drop freely upon the clay in themould, as aforesaid; In order, however,.that all points of the annularspace D may be subjected to the rainmingaction, we rotate the mould Eand its connections by the screw-shaft B, arranging herefor thepower-shaft G above the frame A, and properly supporting said shaft G bybearing-blocks g on said frame. l

Onsaid shaft G, we arrange a bevel-gear wheel, or worm, or similarpower-transmission devices, connecting by bevel-gear wheel, or byworin-wheel, with the shaft B.

In ordeito operate the ramm'ers F, we arrange a cross-bar, H,transversely across. the frame A, guiding said bar H in said frame.

Upon said bar II we arrange the shaft I, supporting this shaft uponpillow-blocks on said bar H', in the ordinary manner.

At the outer end of said shaft I, we arrange the pulley K; and for thepurpose of transmission of power to said shaft I, we 'also arrange thepulley L upon the end of the main driving-shaftG, and a pulley, M,secured to the side of the frame A.

Now, as the cross-bar H and shaft I are to have a Vertical motion, weconnect the belt N so as to enclose the running pulley K; then, as thelength of the belt N is determined by thc distance apart of the pulleysL and M, whatever may be the position of the shaft I and pulley K, thepower will be exerted and motion transmitted.

On the shaft I are arranged the cams i. These may be single, (one foreach rammel', as shown,) or there may be two arranged, with rammerbetween, to exert an even pressure to raise.

Said cams 'i operate upon the tappets f, and as these are secured to therammers F by the set-screws f', it will be seen that the rammers willthus be raised.

As the operator feeds clay to the mould E, the rammers will rise higherand higher, as in the nature of this invention, and as thus the relativeposition of the tappets fand cams i may be changed, we have arranged theset-screws f', for securing the said tappets to the rammers F. By thusresetting the tappets f, said parts may be properly positioned.

In order, however, that the cams i may follow up as nearly as possiblethe upward motion of the rammers and tappets, we have arranged to raisethe cross-bar H and shaft I by the revolving screw-shaft B.

About said shaft B we arrange the clutch-nut O, said nut heilig formedof parts hinged together at o, the parts having handles o, for openingthem, and a sliding clasp, o2, for tightly holding the handles otogether.

Upon said clutch-nut is the washer P, connected with the nut O by thepin p.

Said washer is placed between the parts of a compresser, Q, consistingofthe boa-rd q, firmly secured to the cross-bar H, and the moving boardq'.

The springs q2 keep said boards apart, unless forced together' by thecompresser-screw qi.

It will be seen, then, that if, by the compresser Q, the washer P andthe clutch-init O are prevented from turning with the shaft B, then thenut O will rise lupon said shaft, and thus elevate the cross-bar H andshaft I, and thus the cams t will follow up the upward motion of therammers and tappets. If, however, the cross-bar H should rise too fast,the cams i would be brought too close to the tappets f, and the rammerswould not be raised high enough to give the proper rarmning force. Inthis case we release the compresser Q, by return motion of the screw g3,thus permitting the washer P to turn with the screw-nut O and the shaftB, and thereupon the said nut will not rise, and the cross-bar H thusremains stationary.

It is plain, also, that by regulating the pressure of the'compresse'r Qupon the washer P, the speed of the cross-bar H may be somewhatregulated, and in this wise irregularities in the feed of clay, andconsequent irregularities in the rise of the ramnmrs F, may be followedup and accommodated.

The weight of the cross-bar H, and the parts supported thereon, may becounterbalanced by the weights It, acting by the ropes T.

When the cross-bar H has reached the upper end of its stroke, and a newlling of the mould is to be begun, the operator opens the clutch-nut O,and the cross-bar H and shaft I will then easily move down, whereuponthe parts may be readjusted as before.

Lastly, in order'that the said rammers F may be limited in downwardstroke only by the clay beneath,

and that the height off'all may be invariable, we have ,arranged uponthe tappet f therack S, said rack being guided in thc frame A.

A detent, x, prevents said rack from dropping tuo low in the downwardstroke.

Instead of securing the tappet f to the rammel' F, as formerlyindicated, we connect the tappet f and rack S to said rammer by the pawls, secured to the rammer by the pivot s.

A spring, s, sets the said pawl out firmly to its engagement on saidrack S.

It will then be seen that the cam t' raises the rack S, and by the pawls also the rammel' F, and that the stroke of the rack and ramnier isthus made invariable. \Vhen, now, the feed of clay to the mouldincreases the height of clay, the said rammel' rises, the pawl sslipping up higher on the rack S, but on the upward stroke the rackalways carries up the rammer the necessary height, equal to the lift ofthe cam, as heretofore required. By releasing the pawl s, the ramnier islowered to its lowest position, and the operation may be renewed.

In this form of our said device, the shaft I may be secured in the frameA, or rested upon a stationary cross-bar, H.

Having thus fully described our invention,

1. 'Ihe shaft Iv and its cam i, operating the tappetf, arrangedadjustably by set-screw j" on the rammel' F, when combined with thecross-bar H, clutch-nut O, and screw-shaft B, substantially as setforth.

2. The nut O, washer P, and compresser (1) when combined with thecross-bar H and screw-shaft B, substantially as set forth.

3. The rack S and pawl s, in combination with the rammer F and theelevating-device, substantially as set forth. ,l p

In witness of said invention, weV have hereunto set our hands, in thepresence of witnesses.

SAMUEL HAMBLE'ION. GEO. P. HERTHEL, JR. Witnesses WM. W. HERTHEL, ROBERTBURNS.

